Reimagining Professional Development as a Decolonization Tool

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Two
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT075 (Thursday)

Abstract

In the United States, students have not been adequately served by the education system as their diverse backgrounds are not accounted for in current pedagogies. This proposal explores the role of professional development (PD) through a culturally responsive lens. The proposal grounds itself through the work of Pener-Williams et al. (2019), Brown et al. (2018, and López (2016); these studies look at the sustainability of teachers enacting culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) after undergoing formal PD on the topic. This proposal argues that schools should build on the successes of CRP and enact culturally responsive professional development (CRPD) (Nganga et al., 2023; Mette et al., 2016). Successfully implementing CRPD transforms PD into a form of educational justice and anti-colonialism.

Author

• Alonso Gonzalez, University of California - Los Angeles